[6:04:53 PM] *** Group call ***
[6:07:20 PM] Thuan Thi Do: Within the meshes of this web the coarser
particles of the bodies are built together. Thus if the bodies are looked at
with buddhic vision, they all disappear, and in their places is seen this web
of life, as it is called, which supports and vivifies all the bodies.

During the ante-natal life, the thread grows out from the physical permanent
atom and branches out in every direction, the growth continuing until the
physical, body is full grown. During physical life the prana, or vitality,
courses along the branches and meshes.

It appears that it is usually the presence of the permanent atom which
renders possible the fertilisation of the ovum, from which the new body is to
grow. Nevertheless, when a child is stillborn, there has usually been no ego
behind, it [and presumably, therefore, no permanent atom] , and of course no
etheric elemental [vide The Etheric Double , p.67] . Although there are vast
hosts of egos seeking incarnation, many of them still at so early a stage
that almost any ordinary surroundings would be equally suitable for them, yet
it does sometimes happen that, at a given time, there is no ego able to take
advantage of a particular opportunity; in that case, though the body may be
formed, to a certain extent, by the thought of the mother, yet, as there is
no ego, it is never really alive.

The ordinary ego is, of course, by no means in a position to choose a body
for himself. The place of his birth is usually determined by the combined
action, of three forces: these are: [1] the law of evolution, which causes an
ego to be born under conditions which will give him an opportunity of
developing exactly those qualities, of which he stands most in need; [2] the
law of karma. The ego may not have deserved the best possible opportunity,
and so he has to put up with the second or third best. He may not even have
deserved any great opportunity at all, and so a tumultuous life of small
progress may be his fate. We shall return a little later to this question, of
the karma of an ego; [3] the force of any personal ties of love or hate that
the ego may have previously formed. Sometimes a man may be drawn into a
position, which he cannot be said to have deserved in any other way than by
the strong personal love, which he felt for some one higher in evolution than
himself.

A more advanced man, who is already on the Path, may be able to exercise a
certain amount of choice as to the country and family of his birth. But such
a man would be the first to put aside entirely any personal wish in the
matter, and resign himself wholly into the hands of the eternal law,confident
that what ever it brings to him must be far better for him than any selection
of his own.

Parents cannot choose the ego who shall inhabit the body to which they give
birth, but by so living as to offer an unusually good opportunity for the
progress of an advanced ego, they can make it exceedingly probable that such
an ego will come to them.

We have seen that as the ego descends to a fresh incarnation, he has to take
up the burden of his past, much of which has been stored as vibratory
tendencies in his permanent atoms. These germs or seeds are known to
Buddhists as Skandhas, a convenient word for which there seems to be as yet
no exact equivalent in English. They consist of material qualities,
sensations, abstract ideas, tendencies of mind, mental powers, the pure aroma
of all these having been built into the causal body, the remainder being
stored, as stated, in the permanent atoms and mental unit.

H.P. Blavatsky, in her vivid, forceful and inimitable language, gives the
following, description of the ego coming to rebirth., and being met by his
Skandhas : "Karma , with its arm of Skandhas, waits at the threshold of
Devachan, whence the Ego re-emerges to assume a new incarnation. It is at
this moment that the future destiny of the now-rested Ego trembles in the
scales of just retribution, as it now falls once again under the sway of
active Karmic Law. It is in this rebirth. which is ready for it, a rebirth
selected and prepared by this mysterious, inexorable, but in the equity and
wisdom of its decrees, infallible LAW, that the sins of the previous life of
the Ego are punished. Only it is into no imaginary Hell, with theatrical
flames and ridiculous tailed and horned devils, that the Ego is cast, but
verily on to this earth, the plane and region of his sins, where he will have
to atone for every bad thought and deed. As he has sown, so will he reap.
Reincarnation will gather around him all those other Egos who have suffered,
whether directly or indirectly, at the hands, or even through the unconscious
instrumentality, of the past personality. They will be thrown by Nemesis in
the way of the new man, concealing the old Eternal Ego…The new personality is
no better than a fresh suit of clothes with its specific characteristics
colour, form and qualities: but the real man who wears it is the same culprit
as of old". [ The Key To Theosophy , pp. 141-2].

Hence it is the law of Karma which guides the man unerringly towards the race
and nation herein are to be found the general characteristics that will
produce a body and provide a social environment fitted for the manifestation
of the general character, built up by the Ego in previous earth-lives, and
for reaping of the harvest he has sown.

Karma thus traces the line, which forms the Ego's path to the new
incarnation, this Karma being the collectivity of causes set going by the Ego
himself.

In considering this play of karmic forces, however, there is one factor to
which due weight should be given viz., the ready acceptance by the ego, in
his clear-sighted vision, of conditions for his personality for other than
those of the personality might be willing to choose for itself. The schooling
of experience is not always pleasant, and, to the limited knowledge of the
personality, there must be much of earth experiencewhich sems needlessly
painful unjust and useless. But the Ego, ere he plunges into the "Lethe of
the body-" sees the causes which result in the conditions of the incarnation,
on which he is to enter, and the opportunities which will be afforded for
growth: hence it is easy to see how lightly will weigh in the balance all
passing griefs and pains trivial, to that piercing, farseeing gaze, the joys
and woes of earth.

For what is each life but a step in the "Perpetual progress for each
incarnating, Ego, or divine soul, in an evolution from the outward to the
inward, from the material to the Spiritual, arriving at the end of each stage
of absolute unity with the Divine Principle. From strength to strength, from
the beauty and perfection of one plane to the greater beauty and perfection
of another, with accessions of new glory, of fresh knowledge and power in
each cycle, such is the destiny of every Ego". [ Key To Theosophy , p.155].

And as Annie Besant graphically puts it, "with such a destiny, what boots the
passing suffering of a moment, or even the anguish of a darkened life?"

Continuing with our brief examination of the question of the karma of an ego,
it is possible to see the great mass of the accumulated karma - know as the
sanchita or piled-up karma—hovering over the ego. Usually it is not a
pleasant sight, because, by the nature of things, it contains more evil than
good. The reason for this is as follows.

(angel) Oeaohoo is rendered “Father-Mother of the Gods” in the Commentaries,
or the six in one, or the septenary root from which all proceeds. All depends
upon the accent given to these seven vowels, which may be pronounced as one,
three, or even seven syllables by adding an e after the letter “o.” This
mystic name is given out, because without a thorough mastery of the triple
pronunciation it remains for ever ineffectual.

(beer) This refers to the Non-Separateness of all that lives and has its
being, whether in active or passive state. In one sense, Oeaohoo is the
“Rootless Root of All”; hence, one with Parabrahmam; in another sense it is a
name for the manifested one life, the Eternal living Unity. The “Root” means,
as already explained, pure knowledge (Sattva),*

Footnote(s) ———————————————
* The original for Understanding is Sattva, which Sankara (acharya) renders
antahkarana. “Refined,” he says, “by sacrifices and other sanctifying
operations.” In the Katha, at p. 148, Sattva is said by Sankara to mean
buddhi — a common use of the word. (“The Bhagavatgita with The Sanatsugatiya
and The Anugita,” trans- [[Footnote continued on next page]]

Vol. 1, Page 69 THE BLOSSOM OF THE ROOT OF LIFE.
eternal (Nitya) unconditioned reality or sat (Satya), whether we call it
Parabrahmam or Mulaprakriti, for these are the two aspects of the one. The
“Light” is the same Omnipresent Spiritual Ray, which has entered and now
fecundated the Divine Egg, and calls cosmic matter to begin its long series
of differentiations. The curds are the first differentiation, and probably
refer also to that cosmic matter which is supposed to be the origin of the
“Milky Way” — the matter we know. This “matter,” which, according to the
revelation received from the primeval Dhyani-Buddhas, is, during the
periodical sleep of the Universe, of the ultimate tenuity conceivable to the
eye of the perfect Bodhisatva — this matter, radical and cool, becomes, at
the first reawakening of cosmic motion, scattered through Space; appearing,
when seen from the Earth, in clusters and lumps, like curds in thin milk.
These are the seeds of the future worlds, the “Star-stuff.”

———————

STANZA III. — Continued.
6. The root of life was in every drop of the ocean of immortality (Amrita)*
and the ocean was radiant light, which was fire and heat and motion. Darkness
vanished and was no more.† It disappeared in its own essence, the body of
fire and water, of father and mother (angel).

(angel) The essence of darkness being absolute light, Darkness is taken as
the appropriate allegorical representation of the condition of the Universe
during Pralaya, or the term of absolute rest, or non-being, as it appears to
our finite minds. The “fire,” “heat,” and “motion” here spoken of, are, of
course, not the fire, heat, and motion of physical science, but the
underlying abstractions, the noumena, or the soul, of the essence of these
material manifestations — the “things in themselves,” which, as modern
science confesses, entirely elude the instru-

Footnote(s) ———————————————
[[Footnote continued from previous page]] lated by Kashinath Trimbak Telang,
M.A.; edited by Max Muller.) Whatever meaning various schools may give the
term, Sattva is the name given among Occult students of the Aryasanga School
to the dual Monad or Atma-buddhi, and Atma-buddhi on this plane corresponds
to Parabrahm and Mulaprakriti on the higher plane.

* Amrita is “immortality.”

† See Commentary No. 1 to this Stanza.

Vol. 1, Page 70 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
ments of the laboratory, and which even the mind cannot grasp, although it
can equally little avoid the conclusion that these underlying essences of
things must exist. Fire and Water, or Father* and Mother, may be taken here
to mean the divine Ray and Chaos. “Chaos, from this union with Spirit
obtaining sense, shone with pleasure, and thus was produced the Protogonos
(the first-born light),” says a fragment of Hermas. Damascius calls it Dis in
“Theogony” — “The disposer of all things.” (See Cory’s “Ancient Fragments,”
p. 314.)

According to the Rosicrucian tenets, as handled and explained by the profane
for once correctly, if only partially, so “Light and Darkness are identical
in themselves, being only divisible in the human mind;" and according to
Robert Fludd, “Darkness adopted illumination in order to make itself visible”
(On Rosenkranz). According to the tenets of Eastern Occultism, Darkness is
the one true actuality, the basis and the root of light, without which the
latter could never manifest itself, nor even exist. Light is matter, and
Darkness pure Spirit. Darkness, in its radical, metaphysical basis, is
subjective and absolute light; while the latter in all its seeming effulgence
and glory, is merely a mass of shadows, as it can never be eternal, and is
simply an illusion, or Maya.
[7:47:37 PM] Thuan Thi Do:
Even in the mind-baffling and science-harassing Genesis, light is created out
of darkness “and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (ch. i. v. 2.) — and
not vice versa. “In him (in darkness) was life; and the life was the light of
men” (John i. 4). A day may come when the eyes of men will be opened; and
then they may comprehend better than they do now, that verse in the Gospel of
John that says “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehendeth it not.” They will see then that the word “darkness” does not
apply to man’s spiritual eyesight, but indeed to “Darkness,” the absolute,
that comprehendeth not (cannot cognize) transient light, however transcendent
to human eyes. Demon est Deus inversus. The devil is now called Darkness by
the Church, whereas, in the Bible he is called the “Son of God” (see Job),
the bright star of the early morning, Lucifer (see Isaiah). There is a whole
philosophy of dogmatic craft in the reason why the first Archangel, who
sprang from the depths of Chaos, was called Lux (Lucifer), the “Luminous Son
of the Morning,” or man-

Footnote(s) ———————————————
* See “Kwan-Shai-Yin.” The real name from the text cannot be given.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
The Qualities of Leadership!
By Truth is Out There on January 30, 2000
Format: Hardcover
In the business world there is a distinct division between employees and
management. Sometimes it is easy to see why there is no office "loyalty" or
true friendship. All you have to do is analyze the totem pole of authority to
discover the seeds of dissension.
The Tao Te Ching was written somewhere around 500 years B.C.E., and has been
referred to, by many, as the wisest book ever written! It is not just some
kind of "new age" thinking or positive thinking "concept"! The Tao Te Ching
reveals the true laws of the universe... When reading this translation, you
will discover that the journey to true power begins with oneself. By
discovering ways of improving oneself, accepting your mistakes when you make
them, learning to become more flexible and open to ideas, knowing when to
speak and when to listen, living in balance/ or harmony by being moderate,
evenhanded and fair... these are only a few of the methods explored in the
first few chapters of the book. One of my favorite chapters reveals that the
authority management wields over their employees is not what creates success
in a company. The true power in an organization is realized when a competent
leader knows how to motivate his coworkers... the employees are the one's who
can put their passion into a project... they are the one's who's labor of
love brings forth the final product... it is their artistic vision that gives
a project it's uniqueness, if you will. These are the most important people,
the ones that should be happy! A good leader is merely a composer or
director... a communicator. In fact, you'll discover that each chapter is
really a vault full of treasure for anyone interested in learning the true
techniques of Leadership.Read more ›
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Finding real power in the Tao Te Ching
By Thomas J. Crawford on December 9, 1999
Format: Hardcover
I have over twenty years experience in senior management positions with $300
million to $1.7 billion businesses. The book "Real Power - Business Lessions
from the Tao Te Ching" should be must reading and pondering for executives or
leaders who wish their organization to prosper now and into the future. I
trust and believe in the principles taught in the book. Creative, clever,
inspiring and value oriented.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This is the best management book I have ever read
By natron on March 28, 2003
Format: Paperback
I could see some that might dismiss it as just a collection of catchy
phrases, trendy euphemisms, and anecdotal and unscientific blathering. But I
felt that this book described the kind of management style I will try to
emulate in my life. Instead of `creating' the environment through sheer force
of will and a desire for control and domination, it focuses on letting order
create itself organically. I loved the detached but focused approach the book
describes. Short little passages made this book something I picked up from
time to time and really thought about the different passages. While the
Taoism is not something I accept completely, learning to appreciate the
gentle, detached, and innate wisdom of things was something I enjoyed
thinking about. The many descriptions of how NOT to do things were the so
close to experiences I have had in with bad management that I found myself
totally engrossed in this book. The solutions given were so logically and
eloquently presented that I could not help but take the words in with a deep
sense of satisfaction. This book was a source of confirmation for me. For so
long I have had so many bad managers, and seen so many bad practices in
organizations, that I was wondering if I was just a complainer. But this book
was right with my experiences. It described things so purely for me that I
felt justified and inspired to continue in my path as I head off to business
school and enter the world of management more on the other side of things. In
any event, as I wrote above, this book captured the kind of management style
I want to cultivate more than any of all the management books and articles
I've read and I recommend it highly. I will keep this book on my desk for as
long as it holds together.
[8:23:07 PM] Thuan Thi Do: 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5 stars or 1 star, depends on who you are and what you want
By ServantofGod on January 12, 2003
Format: Paperback
I should be the eighth person who wrote a review for this book. The seven
reviewers before me had really extreme opinion on it. Five 5 stars and two 1
star. You seldom find that on Amazon. Anyway, I read and found all of them
honest and personal/subjective account of the reviewers'
perception/experience.

As a Chinese, I assure you that Tao Te Ching would be voted as one of the ten
greatest books of our culture. It touches every part of our daily life and so
the application of its principles on business/life/love is popular in the
eastern world (similar to Sun Tzu's Art of War). Mitchell's translation is
the best I read so far (though so little). Autry's intrepretation of it
matches those of the mainstream Chinese and Japanese scholars.

So, if you buy in TQM, Theory Y/Z and self actualization kind of stuff, read
this book and you will gain something. Otherwise, spend your money and time
elsewhere.
[9:10:15 PM] *** Call ended, duration 3:05:45 ***